On occasion, Johnson painted boys and girls together. Most notable were his scenes of street musicians. During the 1870s Italian immigrant children earned money for their families by playing musical instruments in the city streets; such children were known as “slaves of the harp” [See John E. Zucchi, Little Slaves of the Harp: Italian Child Street Musicians in Nineteenth-Century Paris, London, and New York (McGill-Queens University Press, 1992)]. —PH
William Young, Lights and Shadows of New York Picture Galleries, 1864: "The two figures in this simple but attractive picture are well worth studying. The mail has arrived. Going his rounds, or bound to start upon them, the young post-man lingers over the cooking-stove, loth to face the biting air without. Brimful of importance, but very cold, and lazy perchance besides, he crouches over the kindly fire, having flung his letters on the ground, that he may devote himself to it without impediment. Conscious he may be of his great mission; but he is intent on warmth. As for the news—let it wait."
This painting has the same setting as Knitting for the Soldiers.
- Subject matter:
- Stoves »